The X Factor

*The X Factor*
The X Factor
	The X Factor logo; ;
Presented by	ITV1:; Dermot O'Leary (Series 4‑) ; Kate Thornton (Series 1–3); ITV2:; Fearne Cotton (Series 4–); Ben Shephard (Series 1–3)
Starring	Judges:; Simon Cowell (Series 1–); Sharon Osbourne (Series 1–); Dannii Minogue (Series 4–); Brian Friedman (Series 4–); Louis Walsh (Series 1–3)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	3 (4th series scheduled for 2007)
No. of episodes	15 (Series 1); 18 (Series 2); 18 (Series 3); TBA (Series 4)
Production
Producers	FremantleMedia,; talkbackTHAMES,; SYCOtv
Running time	60 - 120 minutes
Original release
Network	ITV1
Release	September 2004 –; present

The X Factor is a British TV music talent show, broadcast on Saturdays on ITV1 in the UK and on TV3 in the Republic of Ireland, with spin-off "behind-the-scenes" shows The Xtra Factor and The X Factor 24/7 screened on ITV2. It is produced by FremantleMedia's talkbackTHAMES and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The "X Factor" of the title refers to the undefinable "something" that makes for star quality.

The prize is a £1,000,000 (sterling) recording contract (in addition to the publicity that appearance in the later stages of the show itself generates, not only for the winner but also for other highly ranked contestants).

The X Factor was devised as a replacement for the massively successful Pop Idol, which was put on indefinite hiatus after its second series, largely because Simon Cowell wished to launch a show that he owned the television rights to. (The perceived similarity between the shows later became the subject of a legal dispute.)

The X Factor is billed as the UK's biggest ever talent search, as it was the first such contest to have no upper age limit (although the minimum age is 14), and to allow both solo singers and groups to compete. Over 50,000 auditioned for series 1, around 75,000 for series 2 and around 100,000 for series 3. Viewing figures of around ten million were claimed for series 2. Over three million public votes were cast in the series 2 semi-final, and six million in the first part of the final. The series 3 final attracted eight million votes and 12.6 million viewers.

At the British Comedy Awards 2005, The X Factor beat Friday Night with Jonathan Ross and Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway to take the award for Best Comedy Entertainment Programme (rather bizarrely, since it is not intended as comedy). The award was presented by Ricky Gervais.

Versions of The X Factor have also appeared in a number of other countries; see The X Factor beyond the UK, below.

Series

For detailed information on each of the series, see the Series 1, Series 2, Series 3 and Series 4 articles.

The first series of The X Factor began in September 2004 and ran to December 2004. It was hugely popular and a second series ran from August to December 2005. A celebrity special edition The X Factor: Battle of the Stars was shown in May-June 2006. The third series, sponsored by mobile phone manufacturer Nokia, aired from 19 August 2006 and concluded on 16 December 2006.

The show has now been given another three year contact with ITV, which means that it will run at least until series 6 in 2009. Series 4 is scheduled to start in August 2007.

Judges and presenters

From Series 1 to Series 3, The X Factor judges were Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh. Cowell and Osbourne will be returning for Series 4, but Walsh has announced that he will not. Walsh's departure, along with the introduction of a new category, has created vacancies for two new judges. On 4 April 2007, Dannii Minogue was announced as one of these.[5]

The show was hosted up to Series 3 by Kate Thornton, who has also announced that she will not be returning for Series 4. Following nearly a month of speculation, Dermot O'Leary was announced as the new host on 29 March 2007. It was revealed that he had signed a contract worth £1 million to present two series of the programme on ITV. However, Dermot was not forced to leave the Big Brother franchise and will continue to present Big Brother sister shows this summer.

On 7 May 2007 it was announced by The Daily Mirror newspaper that US choreographer and Grease Is The Word judge Brian Friedman will be the fourth new judge on the X Factor panel.[6]

On 9 May 2007 it was announced by The Sun newspaper that British TV Presenter Fearne Cotton would take over from Ben Shephard on hosting the Xtra Factor on ITV2.^[1]

Voice-overs are provided by Peter Dickson and Enn Reitel.

Format

Template:The X Factor UK

The show is primarily concerned with identifying singing talent, though appearance, personality, stage presence and dance routines are also an important element of many performances. Some acts also accompany themselves on guitar or piano, though almost always over a backing track. The single most important attribute that the judges are seeking, however, is the ability to appeal to a mass market of pop fans.

The competition is split into three categories: vocal groups (including duos), solo singers aged 16–24, and solo singers aged 25 and over. There is, however, only one final winner. This format has been modified for series 4, with 16–24 becoming 14–24 and being split into two further categories: one for males and one for females.

There are four stages to The X Factor competition:

Stage 1: Auditions
Stage 2: Boot camp
Stage 3: Visits to judges' homes
Stage 4: Live shows (finals)

Auditions

In the initial weeks of the show, public auditions are held at various locations across the UK. Each act enters the audition room (often after waiting for hours), and delivers a stand-up unaccompanied performance of their chosen song to the three judges. If at least two of the three judges say "yes" then the act goes through to the next stage. If two of the three say "no", the act is sent home.

Only a small selection of auditions are broadcast – usually the best, the worst and the most bizarre (although the oddest are asked to return for a special appearance in the final as seen in the past seasons). Much like Pop Idol, many acts face harsh criticism from the judges, especially from the controversial Simon Cowell.

Boot camp and visits to judges' homes

After all auditions are complete, each of the three judges is allocated a category to mentor. The contestants who survived stage one are then further refined through a series of performances at "boot camp" and at the judges' homes, until a small number eventually progress to the live finals (nine in series 1 and twelve in series 2 and 3).

Live shows

The finals consist of a series of two live shows each Saturday evening, usually with one act eliminated each week. In the first few weeks of the finals, each act performs once in the first show in front of an auditorium audience and the three judges. Acts usually sing over a pre-recorded backing track, though sometimes live musicians, backing singers and/or dancers are featured.

In the first two series acts usually chose a cover of a pop standard or contemporary hit. In the third series an innovation was introduced whereby each live show had a different theme (for example, Motown). The contestants' songs were chosen according to this theme, and a celebrity guest connected to the theme was invited onto the show. Clips were shown of the guest conversing with the contestants at rehearsal, and the guest also performed in the later results show, immediately before the results were announced. (See the series 3 article for a full list of themes and guests.)

After each act has performed, the judges comment on their performance, usually focusing on vocal ability and stage presence. Once all the acts have appeared, the phone lines open and the viewing public vote on which act they want to keep.

File:Chico on XFactor.jpg

Chico performs on X Factor

In the results show, screened an hour or so later, the two acts polling the fewest votes are revealed. Both these acts perform their song again in a "final showdown", and the judges vote on which of the two to send home. Ties should not be possible, but in the event that a judge refuses to cast a vote the act who came last in the public vote is sent home. The actual number of votes cast for each act is not revealed, nor even the order (this is presumably to maintain interest in the event that there might be a clear winner from an early stage). In series 3, a twist was introduced in one of the live shows where the act with the fewest votes was automatically eliminated, and the two with the next fewest votes performed in the "final showdown" as normal.

File:Leonaandthechoir.JPG

Leona sings in the X Factor final

Once the number of contestants has been reduced to four (series 1) or five (series 2 and 3), the format changes. Each act performs twice in the first show, with the public vote opening after the first performance. The second show reveals which act polled the fewest votes, and they are automatically eliminated from the competition (the judges do not have a vote; their only role is to comment on the performances). In series 1 the acts also reprised one of their songs in the second show.

This continues until only two (series 1 and 3) or three (series 2) acts remain. These acts go on to appear in the grand final which decides the overall winner by public vote.

Judges' categories

Series 4 (2007) (mentors TBA)

Male 14-24s
Female 14-24s
25 and overs
Groups

Series 3 (2006)

Simon Cowell: 16 to 24s – runner up (Raymond Quinn) and winner (Leona Lewis)
Sharon Osbourne: 25 and overs – third place (Ben Mills)
Louis Walsh: Groups

The X Factor: Battle of the Stars

Simon Cowell: Groups
Sharon Osbourne: 16 to 24s – runner-up (Matt Stevens)
Louis Walsh: 25 and overs – winner (Lucy Benjamin) and third place (Chris Moyles)

Series 2 (2005)

Simon Cowell: Groups – third place (Journey South)
Sharon Osbourne: 25 and overs – runner-up (Andy Abraham)
Louis Walsh: 16 to 24s – winner (Shayne Ward)

Series 1 (2004)

Simon Cowell: 25 and overs – winner (Steve Brookstein)
Sharon Osbourne: 16 to 24s – third place (Tabby Callaghan)
Louis Walsh: Groups – runner-up (G4)

The X Factor Winners

Steven Brookstein

File:Stevebrookstein.jpg

Steve Brookstein was the winner of the first series of X Factor in 2004. He was mentored by Simon Cowell and was announced as the winner during the 11 December final after receiving over two thirds of the 9 million public votes.

Brookstein released an album following his victory which, although went to number 1 in the UK album charts, sold 250,000, too modestly for the liking of Simon Cowell, who dropped Brookstein after the first album. Cowell said "Without this competition there would have been no No 1 album. He would still be singing in wine bars". Brookstein parted company with his record label eight months after winning the competition. In November 2005, he was apparently back to singing in pubs.

Brookstein formed his own label, through which he released his second single and album "40,000 things" independently on October 2, and October 9, 2006 respectively. The album was a collection of songs that he has written over the years. Brookstein released his new Single "Fighting Butterflies" on 2nd October, 2006, from his new album "40,000 things" - released on 9th October, 2006. Despite it being very well received by local radio and media[citation needed], the single failed to make the official UK top 100, and the album failed to make the official UK top 100 Album Chart.

Steve Brookstein's 15 date UK tour with an 6 piece band ran from the end of September 06 through to mid November 06, and was a very mixed success: while his concert at the Worthing Assembly Hall sold only 120 tickets, apparently over half the remaining dates, including the Glasgow Pavilion theatre, Epsom and Skegness, were largely sold out. Brookstein blamed a ticketing fiasco.

Shayne Ward

Shayne Ward was the winner of the second series of X Factor in 2005. He was mentored by manager Louis Walsh. The Bookies' favourite to win the show, he defeated duo Journey South and singer Andy Abraham in the series two final, screened by ITV1, by a margin of 1.2% of the vote, out of a reputed 10.8 million phone votes cast by viewers (since the programme was watched by an audience averaging 9.2 million people, it is likely that some viewers cast multiple votes for all finalists).

His first single, "That's My Goal", was released in the UK on Wednesday, December 21, 2005 and became the Christmas number one in 2005. It sold 313,000 copies on its first day of sales,[ though technically it was not in one day because sales of downloads for this song were around 70.000 which had been on sale for four days before the physical release] making it the fourth fastest selling single of all time (behind Elton John's "Candle in the Wind" and Will Young's "Anything Is Possible/Evergreen", which sold 685,000 and 403,000 copies in their first days of sale respectively, and 335,000 for Gareth Gates' "Unchained Melody").

His second single "No Promises" (a cover of a Bryan Rice song) was released on 10 April 2006, and it reached number two in the UK Singles Chart. His album was released on Monday April 17, and it sold over 95,000 copies on the first two days of release. By the end of the week, the album sold 201,266 copies at number 1. The album has sold 450,000 copies in total in the UK.

Ward's third single "Stand by Me" failed to set the charts alight like the previous two, entering the UK top 20 at #14. It fared slightly better in the Irish charts, reaching #9. Although this single reached number 9 in Ireland, many people inside and outside of music have now labelled him the new Steve Brookstein due to the decrease in popularity.

Sony BMG released Ward's debut album on 14 July 2006 in Taiwan and other [Asia] countries. He is currently enjoying major success there and in South Africa and he has had some success across Scandinavia.

In August 2006, it was reported that Ward had developed vocal cord nodules — the same condition that stopped the singing career of Julie Andrews — and was to be flown out to Los Angeles in early September to a specialist surgeon. His manager, Louis Walsh, released a statement that he was confident Ward would be fine and would be back at work by the end of the month. In November 2006, he released his autobiography entitled 'My Story'. He travelled to a few places around the country and did book signings which thousands of people attended.

Ward is currently working on a new album to be released in May/June 2007. Prior to the release of the new album, Ward went on tour across the UK and Ireland in early 2007, taking in eighteen concerts in twenty-eight days from late January to mid February. The tour commenced in Dublin on 21 January and ended in Birmingham on 17 February 2007.

It has been confirmed that Ward's new single will be "You Make Me Wish", as revealed by the News of the World showbiz columnists Rav and Dav. It is due for release after Ward's UK and Ireland tour.

Leona Lewis

File:Leona Lewis2.jpg

Leona Lewis was the winner of the third series of X Factor in 2006. Leona auditioned for the third series of The X Factor, singing "Over the Rainbow". She made it through to the final stages and was announced the winner on 16 December 2006, winning a £1million recording contract. She was mentored by Simon Cowell.

During the show, her vocal talents were consistently highly praised by all three judges (Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne), and on occasions was compared with divas such as Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. All three judges also commented on how the British music industry needed a singer like her, and that her performances were world class. Walsh remarked that her performance of "I Will Always Love You" was as good as Whitney Houston's version. In week 3 (Big Band week), Lewis sang "Summertime". Following her performance, Cowell said, "You are, absolutely, the best contestant I have ever had across any of these shows, and that was an amazing performance."

As Lewis progressed through the live stages of The X Factor, a news article was published on the internet referring to her past. When Lewis was fifteen years old she recorded a version of Minnie Riperton's "Lovin' You" with music producer Marley J. Wills. Marley goes on to say in the news article that "She was young and innocent but very much able. Even then she had a very good voice. We started putting tracks together straight away."..."Leona could hit the notes and I think she did it better than the original."

The only criticism Lewis received, both by the judges and in the press, was related to her confidence. On the 9 December show, Cowell remarked that her performance of "Over the Rainbow" was the best he had ever witnessed. Cowell also commented throughout the show that Lewis's lack of awareness as to how good she is, is what makes her special. On the final night of the show, Take That joined Lewis on stage for a duet of their song "A Million Love Songs". After the performance, singer Gary Barlow told Cowell, "This girl is probably fifty times better than any other contestant you have ever had, so you have a big responsibility to make the right record with her." Lewis went on to win the competition, receiving approximately 4,800,000 (60%) of the 8,000,000+ votes cast.

The Xtra Factor

The Xtra Factor is a companion show that airs on digital channel ITV2 on Saturday nights. It features exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of The X Factor and shows the emotional responses of the contestants after the judges comment on their performances.

Cameras follow the finalists during their day, and some of the footage is aired in a spin-off show The Xtra Factor: The Aftermath, which is broadcast in the middle of the week on ITV2. The Xtra Factor: Xcess All Areas is a live show in which there are interviews, games and trips around the contestants' homes. The show also lets viewers know what songs the contestants will be singing in the next live show.

The Xtra Factor was hosted up to Series 3 by Ben Shephard. On the 2nd of May 2007 it was revealed in both The Sun^[2] and The Daily Mirror^[3] that Ben Shepard will not be back to host the show after being upset at not getting the main ITV1 job. On 9 May 2007 it was announced by The Sun newspaper that British TV Presenter Fearne Cotton would take over from Ben Shephard on hosting the Xtra Factor on ITV2.^[4]

Dispute over rights to format

Simon Fuller, the creator of Pop Idol, claimed that the format of The X Factor was copied from his own show, and, through his company 19 TV, filed a lawsuit against The X Factor producers FremantleMedia, Simon Cowell and Cowell's companies Simco and Syco [7]. A High Court hearing began in London, England in November 2005, and the outcome was awaited with interest by media lawyers for its potential effect on the legal situation regarding the copyrighting of formats. However, in the event the hearing was quickly adjourned and an out-of-court settlement was reached at the end of the month. [8]

Euro X Factor

It was revealed by the Daily Mirror newspaper on 9 December 2006 that Simon Cowell has intentions of launching a "Euro X Factor" within two years [9]. The show, if launched, would feature European countries staging their own X Factor contests, with a winner being announced for each. The individual winners would then take part in the "Euro X Factor". The concept is similar to that of World Idol and the Eurovision Song Contest; however, unlike these shows "Euro X Factor" would progress over a number of weeks, with an act being eliminated each week, until an eventual international winner is found. It is anticipated that such a show could attract over 100 million viewers per episode, which would make it the biggest talent competition on the planet, even more so than the popular US show American Idol.

Controversy and criticism

The series was controversial from the beginning. Tabloid reports claimed that the show was fixed, after it emerged that Louis Walsh had allegedly cheated and tried to help a band that he used to manage get through to the final stages of the show. Footage of Simon Cowell and Sharon Osbourne coaching contestants to argue back to the judges was also being sold over the Internet to the highest bidder.^{[citation needed]}

The "Judges' Homes" section of the competition has also been controversial. In the first series, Louis tried to pass off a Dublin flat as his own home, but it emerged it had been rented specifically for the occasion.^{[citation needed]} In subsequent series different locations in Ireland have been used at the "Judges' Home" stage, but have not been described as belonging to Louis.^{[citation needed]} By contrast, Sharon and Simon have taken contestants to homes they are known to either own or spend time living in.

Sharon and Louis were criticised in October 2005 for tactical voting, due to an alleged pact against Simon Cowell carried forward from the first series. Louis was alleged to have told Chenai Zinyuku in the second live show of the second series that she was safe, because "Sharon owed him one" from the previous show.^{[citation needed]} Later in the same series Louis was heavily criticised for casting the deciding vote to keep Irish group The Conway Sisters in the show at the expense of the popular Maria Lawson, especially after it was revealed that he had worked with the Conways personally prior to the show.^{[citation needed]} The Conway Sisters had supported Westlife, a band managed by Louis on one of their tours.

There is a suspicion that some of the controversy surrounding the show, such as the bickering between the judges, is deliberately orchestrated to attract publicity.^{[citation needed]} On one occasion, judge Louis Walsh announced after the live Saturday show that he would quit the series, claiming that the other two judges had been 'bullying' him.^[5] This included various verbal assaults on Louis, and Sharon Osbourne even throwing water over him, live on air. Louis' announcement was claimed by many to be a publicity stunt, especially when Louis decided to return to the show the following Saturday night.^[6]

Sharon Osbourne has also been criticised for outbursts, including one aimed at first series winner Steve Brookstein live on air, and a Series 3 tirade against Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? presenter Chris Tarrant, who was in the show's audience prior to taping. Tarrant had apparently made a joke about Ozzy Osbourne to which Sharon took exception, but most of her outburst focused on criticising Tarrant's recent infidelity to his wife Ingrid from whom he was in the process of separating.^[7] Following this incident rumours in the press indicated that Simon Cowell had felt her behaviour was both inappropriate and hypocritical, and was considering not renewing Sharon's contract for a fourth series.^[8]

In comparison to the US equivalent American Idol, the show has been criticised on a number of occasions for producing inferior talent on the live shows, with American Idol's much higher production values (allowing for a weekly live band and a huge concert-size stage) making The X Factor look comparatively tawdry. [10] Many people in the press, including Simon Cowell himself and Rod Stewart, who guest starred on the show, have pointed out a huge gulf in talent and scale between the two shows.[11] It seems that series 3 winner Leona Lewis may be an exception to this accepted view, having been the only contestant cited as 'good enough' to compete in America.

The X Factor has been criticised for not protecting the online identity of contestants who reached the latter stages of the show. Domain names like leonalewis.net have been bought up and are now being sold for hundreds of pounds on Internet auction site eBay. Despite original problems with the listings of these domains on eBay there now seem to be no issues with the domains being sold for huge profits compared to the tiny fee that was paid for them. The owner(s) of these domains have been accused of cybersquatting by many, including the national press, but the owner(s) have responded by stating that they ran fan sites and simply don't have time for the site any more, hence the decision to sell them.^{[citation needed]}

After series 3, it was discovered that ITV had overcharged viewers who voted via interactive television, making a total overcharge of approximately £200,000. ITV said a data inputting error was to blame and say they will refund anybody who was overcharged if they contact them. They will also make a £200,000 donation to Childline.^[9] This error, and those by other broadcasters, eventually led to a suspension of all ITV's phone-in services on 5 March for an audit and meeting with ICSTIS. The suspension of phone-in programming also saw ITV Play temporarily taken off air.

The X Factor around the world

The "UK" version of The X Factor effectively includes the Republic of Ireland on an equal footing, and viewers in the Republic have been able to vote in all three series via SMS or telephone. The first series was available to Irish viewers only through the Northern Ireland channel UTV, but subsequent series have been shown on Irish terrestrial TV station TV3. The show has held auditions in Ballsbridge, Dublin for all three series, and Irish acts reached the finals in both series 1 (Tabby and Roberta) and series 2 (The Conway Sisters and Phillip).

The X Factor (Australian TV series) began screening in February 2005 on Network Ten. The judges were Mark Holden (Australian Idol judge), Kate Ceberano (singer), and John Reid (a Scottish events manager). Daniel MacPherson (from the soap opera Neighbours and British police drama The Bill) was the show's host. The series rated poorly and will not return for a second season.
X Factor (Belgium) began screening in September 2005 on VTM; Udo Mechels won the competition with the Cappaert Sisters in second.
X Factor (Netherlands) appeared on RTL 4 after the autumn of 2006 and ended in February 2007. Sharon Kips won the competition with Richy Brown in second]].
The X Factor (Iceland) premiered in November 2006.
El Factor X The first Latin American version (El Factor X), which was made in Bogotá, Colombia started screening in September 2005 and ended by December.
The X Factor (Kazakhstan) The first Kazakh version due to air in late 2006/early 2007.
Секрет Успеха, the first Russian series premiered on RTR in late 2005.
A pan-Arabian version aired under the name The X Factor, XSeer Al Najah (The X Factor, The Essence of Success) from March 26 2006.
Factor X will premiere in 2007 1st quarter on Cuatro in Spain.
As part of Simon Cowell's deal to remain on American Idol, a United States version of The X Factor cannot be produced.